About confidentiality

The Center for Women and Men, Engemann Student Health Center, and Student Counseling Services (available through the Engemann Student Health Center) offer confidential counseling services. There are, however, some exceptions: If you report sexual abuse of a minor (at the time of the incident), or if you have a physical wound or injury due to rape or sexual assault, certain state laws require that disclosures be made to law enforcement, or, in the case of child sexual abuse, to the Department of Children and Family Services Child Protection Hotline.

Other campus personnel have different obligations, and are not fully confidential, although every effort will be made to keep the matter as confidential as possible.

If you inform someone who is a Campus Security Authority (CSA) of a sexual assault, that CSA is required to notify DPS and also the University’s Title IX Coordinator. When a Campus Security Authority receives information about a sexual assault or other crime that falls under the purview of the Clery Act, he or she will document that report by completing and submitting the Campus Security Authority Incident Report Form to DPS. The form does not require disclosure of the name of the sexual assault victim, nor the name of the person responsible for committing the sexual assault. Instead, this form is intended for anonymous reporting of a sexual assault in situations where the victim is not ready to file a crime report with DPS or law enforcement, and the information is used for statistical purposes. Additional information about CSAs and the university’s obligations under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (also known as the Clery Act) can be found at http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/clery-compliance. The information contained on the CampusSecurity Authority Incident Report Form will also be shared with LAPD.

If you are working with one of the confidential offices, such as the Center for Women and Men, but nonetheless wish to have your information forwarded to DPS for inclusion with the university’s Clery Act obligations, you have several options; (1) You may choose to call Jody Shipper, the university’s Title IX coordinator at (213) 740-5086. The Title IX Coordinator is a CSA, and will then fill out the Campus Security Authority Incident Report Form and send that form to DPS, or (2) you may ask that your counselor or healthcare provider put you in touch with Ms. Shipper or another appropriate CSA who will speak with you while you are with the healthcare provider.